PAT On The Back Burner

The outcome of the Lofstedt Report is gradually starting to take effect. The HSE has recently updated INDG236 – Maintaining portable electric equipment in low-risk environments, which makes some changes, but things still aren’t clear.

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) has always been a bit of an issue in low risk environments, and the HSE has stated that over £30 million is wasted each year by businesses paying for unnecessary portable appliance testing (PAT). But INDG236 doesn’t advocate stopping the tests. In fact, quite the opposite. Plus, it doesn’t give a definitive answer on how often a test should be undertaken. It simply states: “The person carrying out the test should not assess when the next test will be due as this decision should be made by you on a risk assessment basis”.

It is still open to debate, but in simple terms, the guidance rules out having a policy of testing everything annually. In fact, the HSE states that this isn’t the correct approach. Instead, you should:

  1. Instruct staff to complete user checks to identify any obvious signs of damage, e.g. cuts in cables, loose/exposed wires etc. routinely.
  2. Arrange for a formal visual inspection to be completed: the HSE has included a table in its guidance, which suggests how often this should be done. It doesn’t need to be carried out by an electrician. Someone who has been trained or instructed on how to spot signs of damage, whether the fuse is correct etc. can do it.
  3. If there is any doubt about the safety of a piece of equipment, or if it’s been damaged, a PAT should be completed.
  4. If there are no problems identified by the user checks or visual inspections, the time between tests can be extended to up to five years.

To find out more about the changes email us or phone 0333 321 0131.

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Celebrating Quality

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As the celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee gets under way, it seemed like a good time to look back on how quality management has changed over the past 60 years too.

Quality standards have their roots in past errors which occurred during World War I, when under severe pressure to produce uniform products, a high percentage of shells failed to explode. The error was traced back to the different definitions of an inch by the two major armaments manufacturers, and eventually led to calibration standards.

Serious problems in weapons factories during World War II led to the introduction of inspectors in the factories and the requirement for written procedures. Whilst the quality of products in the UK were improving, by the 1950’s Japanese culture for conformance and discipline was beginning to reap rewards as they emerged as a major exporter. Based on a reputation of quality, they earned a reputation for cheaper, better products than their Western Counterparts.

Meanwhile, by the late fifties, the United States Department of Defense was looking for a way to increase the reliability of the products and munitions it was purchasing. This led to the first national quality standards MIL-Q-9858 – in 1959. The standard was adopted by NATO and revised a few times before emerging as British Standard BS7570 in 1979.

At that time the then Department of Trade and Industry in the UK was becoming concerned about the decline in Britain’s share of world trade. Global competition was becoming intense and quality was central to competitiveness.

The International Standards body, ISO, used BS5750 as a basis for the ISO9000 series of quality management standards, which were first published in 1987. Since then the ISO9000 has become established as the world’s most well-recognised quality system.

ISO reviews standards at regular intervals and the ISO9001 standard has been revised in 1994, 2000 and 2008. In 2000, a significant change in emphasis, moving away from the traditional inspection system to being customer focused, making it far more effective at delivering a competitive advantage for all types of organisations, rather than focusing on manufacturing.

The changes in emphasis boosted the standard’s popularity. It has now been adopted by over 1 million organisations in 176 countries.

Quality systems today may be more sophisticated than they were 60 years ago, but the value of quality to a business hasn’t really changed.

To find out more about how quality management systems can help your business, drop us an email or call us on 0333 321 0131.

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